5 Stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity . . . until now.

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice.

My Thoughts:

Daisy Jones & the Six is my most anticipated read of 2019 and I could hardly keep my hands off of my ARC when I received it in August, but I forced myself to wait closer to publication. I’m so glad I did since it ended up being a buddy read with my wonderful friend Annie @ The Misstery! You can read her fabulous review here.

I’ve been a huge fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid since reading After I Do, and Annie and I both loved Evelyn Hugo so we couldn’t wait to find out what we thought of Daisy Jones! We both flew through the book even though we meant to stop throughout, but it was just impossible to put down. This was such a fabulous book, and we both loved it! I had so much fun hearing Annie’s thoughts on this one and although I loved Daisy much more than I did Evelyn (I actually adored Daisy!) and Annie liked Evelyn just a little bit more, we completely agreed this was another winner by TJR!

I love 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s rock music, especially rock bands, so I knew when starting this book that I’d love it! And I was always a big fan of VH1’s Behind the Music in the late 90s because I loved learning about the bands…how they were made, their love of the music, and what tore them apart. In a way, this book reminded me of watching a mega episode but it’s so, so much more than that because it’s tremendously epic!

I loved how this book is written and can’t remember reading anything composed quite like this before or at least done in such a phenomenal way! It’s written as oral interviews with the characters (and when I realized who the interviewee was, it became even more special and poignant), so we hear firsthand their own words of how they rose to the top and how they broke apart. Can I just say that I wanted Daisy and the band members… Billy, Graham, Karen, Warren, Pete, and Eddie to be real?! I’d give anything to hear them play and sing just the way I did in my head while reading this book!

I fell in love with so many of these characters, including Billy’s wife Camila, because TJR created these tremendous characters in such a realistic way (the same way that Evelyn Hugo felt like a real celebrity in Hollywood). The characterization is just exceptional and so well-developed and that’s something TJR excels in when writing her novels.

Their stories might be totally crazy at times, with sex, alcohol, drugs, addiction, battles, conflict and of course, love and passion, but these stories sound and feel astonishingly raw, authentic, passionate, emotional, and at times so very touching and sad that I bawled my eyes out. It’s a remarkable piece of storytelling.

If you enjoy 60s and 70s rock and roll, then I know you’ll love Daisy Jones & the Six! I enjoyed this one so much, and it completely lived up to the hype! I’m over the moon that it’s being made into a TV adaptation for Amazon by Reese Witherspoon. I’ll be recommending everyone read Daisy Jones this year, and there’s no doubt it’ll be a favorite of 2019!!

**Thank you Edelweiss and Ballantine Books for the ARC to read in exchange for my honest review.**

Oh, and make sure you check out Spotify’s Daisy Jones & the Six playlist when you read the book (or if you’ve read it already!). Annie found it, and the music really gets you in the rock n’ roll mood while you’re reading the book!

Great review, Stephanie. I love the sound of the music references and the characterization of Daisy. This review also reminds me that I need to read Evelyn soon. Glad to hear that you both enjoyed this one.

Thank you, Diana! It’s a phenomenal book. You do feel like you’re reading about a real band. I don’t know how she made it feel so realistic, but it was just amazing. You definitely need to read Evelyn Hugo! I think you’ll love it. Thank you, Daisy is a favorite for us both. 😊

What a fantastic review! And you have me intrigued to know who I’ll prefer more, Daisy or Evelyn. And I completely relate to the feeling of wishing the characters were real, that’s exactly how I felt when I read Evelyn Hugo!

Thank you, Janel! They are such different characters that it’s really hard at first to know. I love Evelyn but she’s a hard woman while Daisy’s a child (14) when you get background info on her, unloved and ignored by her parents, and I just wanted so much to take care of her…motherly instinct, maybe? She’s got a good heart even though she makes a lot mistakes. Reid’s just a genius at making them feel real! And she’s written song lyrics for an album the band recorded, and we both wanted to hear the songs! I think that’s one thing I’m looking forward to with the adaptation…hearing the music! I can’t wait to hear what you think of Daisy!

Well now I REALLY want to check this out. Great review! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I haven’t read anything from this author but this looks like a good place to start. Hope to get my hands on it soon.
Have a great week, lovely!! ❤ 🙂

Dee, you really need to read Daisy Jones! Or Evelyn Hugo…or both, lol. Or anything TJR has written. I have loved all her books since I read the 1st one maybe 4 or 5 years ago. Her others are more Contemporary Fiction while Daisy and Evelyn are historical, but I don’t think you could go wrong with any of them. I hope you get it soon too! Thank you! You too, my friend! ❤😊

Wonderful review! I’ve been seeing this book around a lot lately but I never really looked into it or knew what it was about. I’m so glad to see you liked it though. I definitely want to check it out now!

Thank you, Jennifer! We did…or I should say excited conversations after we read it since we couldn’t put it down, Haha. I’m still getting there. I ended up with laryngitis on Saturday, so that’s been fun. Well, fun for my husband anyway. The sore throat hasn’t been any fun at all. We’re on the road now! Thanks! ❤💖

It’s definitely a gem, Marialyce! I hope you get a copy soon. Thank you so much! It will transport you to that time, and you’ll feel like you’re right there. If you love the music, you should love this.

Thank you, Mackey! It was incredible. I was blown away by how good it was. This might only be the 2nd book I’ve ever read set in this era, but I think she nailed it (as I imagine it since I was only 3 in 1980, haha).

Thank you, Susie! Yes, it was brilliant. I think if it’d been written as a novel it would have lost what made it so special. The oral narrative style sets it apart from other books and really gives it that feeling of being right there with the characters as the relive their band days. I’m wondering what TJR will write next.

Aww, thank you, Beth~that means so much! I cannot recommend you read this more! It’s beyond fabulous. I love Evelyn too; it’s an all-time favorite book, but this one is even better in my opinion. ♥ xoxo

I am so excited for this book! I think it’s right up my alley. I almost bought it today, but I decided to wait for my lubrary hold on the audiobook. I saw the cast and it’s going to be top notch. Great review!

I think you will love it, Deanna! It’s just brilliant! I bet this will be an amazing audiobook–they will really bring it to life even though the book was like being there too. Enjoy it! And thanks so much! 🙂